Imagine Me and You
by Adia Rose
Summary: TenRose! Reunion postDoomsday. Lots of fluff but also humour and possibility. The Doctor can handle the monsters, can he handle Rose...or her mother!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N---** This is a new story up. Had 8hours on a train without my laptop so I just started a new fic. This is a reunion fic at first, but will move on to be a lot more. Including some incidents with a certain Jackie Tyler, and a very interesting period for the Doctor and Rose's relationship. This will have a lot to it with a simple plot, not too much angst or trouble, just fluff and adventure and humour.

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The Doctor had lived a long life. He had lived over 900years and a lot had happened in that time. Lately though, a whole lot more seemed to happening. What was it about those little apes that always brought about trouble? In the last year the Doctor had crossed the universe, dealt with some very unsavoury characters – even some from Torchwood – and broken almost every time law that had ever existed, just to find his way back to that little pink and yellow human who had stolen his hearts so long ago.

The Time Lord had thought that getting to Rose would be the hardest part, but of course he had not bargained on materialising right into Jackie Tyler's bedroom. This had not gone down well at all.

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**Six Months Earlier**

The Doctor stood in the Tardis, his hands clutching the edge of the console in anxious anticipation. He couldn't deny how nervous he was, his knuckles were white from the vehemence with which he was clinging to the console. This was it. This was what he had spent almost two years preparing for, a safew route into the parallel world, 'Pete's World' as he called it.

He had worked on it in secret whilst Martha had been travelling with him. He couldn't bear to get his own hopes up. Admitting to another person how desperate he was, how much he needed this, how much he dreamed of it, wished for it, lived for it, that would just be too much, it would make it all far too real. And if he failed. He wouldn't have been able to bear that. So he kept it secret. Also, he didn't want to keep dragging his past into Martha's life as he knew that she was already living very much in Rose's shadow, how could she not be? Rose was the Doctor's equal, she had proved herself in every moment they had spent together and doubly in those moments apart that she was in every way his match. She had the same strength, idealism, love for adventure, passion, heart. In fact he had to admit, though only to himself, that she even surpassed him in some of those areas. She had proved just how powerful she was when she had become the Bad Wolf. She controlled everything in that time, she had even controlled him, if she had chosen to. The Doctor knew how much Rose was truly perfection in his eyes and how much pressure this put on Martha. He just couldn't help it though. Rose was a part of his life, a part of him, even a part of the Tardis given her Bad Wolf episode and that meant that he was not about to just forget her or move on away from her. She was his forever, she had a place on the Tardis and a place in his hearts.

Martha had realised both of these things almost as soon as she began travelling with the Doctor. It was easy to tell that Rose was more than just a companion for him. The Doctor talked about her all the time, often to Martha's annoyance. He would always say,

"Rose would know exactly what to say," or "Rose would know what to do." Martha was constantly battling against "Rose would…" or "Rose did…" and often just a sorrowful and distant "Rose would have loved this," it was always about Rose.

But it wasn't just the Doctor talking about Rose, she was everywhere, the Tardis was almost bursting with the remnants of her Rose. Firstly there were the post-its. They were everywhere! Those little sticky notes appeared everywhere throughout the ship often in the most unlikely of places, under the kitchen sink, inside the salt shaker, on ceilings, stuck under the captain's chair in the console room…but when Martha had once been about to stick one up for herself, the Doctor had lectured her about cluttering and annoying his precious Tardis.

Not that the post-its were bad…they actually amused Martha quite a lot, but they were a perpetual reminder that Rose would always been there, it was as if she always had been, as if she was always meant to be. The first note that had surprised Martha was stuck to a bottle of coconut and vanilla shampoo, it was an explicitly threatening note instructing the Doctor and Jack to not even think about using the shampoo or Rose would be removing some body parts that they would definitely miss. This note had been amusing but clear, many were just odd. Martha had found one by the door to the Doctor's room which had an illustration of 3 little stick people and above them in large letters read,

"Into Time…And SPACE!"

"DO NOT FORGET…You asked Mickey for help and he saved you. HA!" was a very odd note that Martha passed every day, it was particularly odd as 'Mickey' had clearly been crossed out and 'Rickey the idiot' been put in it's place only to be crossed out and have 'Mickey' written back in.

"You owe me chips!" was a note that appeared frequently, apparently Rose had been rather persistent when it came to this particular snack food. But some notes were not just one person writing, like the note about 'Mickey' or 'Rickey' there was one written by 3 different people. It read,

"Wednesday is defrock Jack day.  
_No it isn't, Jack.  
_Defrock Rose day?  
_NO!  
_Defrock Doctor day?  
_Okay.  
_**No. You stupid apes!"**

It seemed as if it had been a bit of a game for the Doctor and Rose, and sometimes Jack, to leave each other little notes.

The bathroom mirror was obscured by two. One in Rose's slanted writing,

"Buy ginger hair dye for the Doctor. Hide it in his shampoo." And underneath was it's reply reading,

"Hide Rose's peroxide. ASAP!" in the Doctor's neat square hand. Another in his writing was by the wardrobe,

"Dame Rose,

I.O.U £10 thanks to Queen Victoria. She obviously doesn't have our sense of humour.

Yours,

Sir Doctor of Tardis."

There were just so many notes around that it was hard to escape Rose really, but the ones that had hit Martha most had been the notes that the Doctor had obviously cherished enough to place on his precious console. They were alongside his notes written in Gallifreyan. Some were clearly just doodles not ever meaning to be seen, let alone displayed, two of these were crumpled shards of post-its that just had the word 'Forever' written on them in various ways. Another was a sketch of the Tardis with the words 'Bad Wolf' and a star above, with 'Forever' and a little '+1' below. The last note had made Martha cry when she had known the true depth of it…it was a small pink post-it that said,

"Thank you, My Doctor. I want you safe. Remember that and remember one more thing, I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

P.S. If we survive this I owe you one game of twister.

Love always

Your Rose."

She hadn't survived. When Martha had giggled at the mention of twister and questioned the Doctor about the note he had blankly told her that it was written on the day he had lost her. Martha never asked anything more of any notes she found. The look of loss, longing, sorrow and so much pain and emptiness in his eyes was just too much to bear.

The Doctor partially knew how oppressive the Tardis was for Martha because of Rose, he knew that Martha had seen the many, many photo's of the two of them decorating almost every room, he knew that Rose's clothes were still in the wardrobe room, he knew that Rose's room had become his solace. So when Martha had asked to leave he didn't argue. He would miss her, she was his friend and they had grown close, she was a great companion to him, but she wasn't Rose and persuading Martha to stay whilst he fought hell and earth to get back to Rose wouldn't have been fair.

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**A/N---** Ok, so what did you all think? The next couple of chapters are already written, I just have to type them up. Oooooh what will happen? Will Rose be happy? Will Martha return? Will he tell Rose about Martha? Will he finish the speech from Bad Wolf Bay? Will Rose even be the same? How long will it have been?!

Arg! Lots of possibilities and I know the answer to them all! lol! But yes, please review as I don't want to be writing rubbish stories that no-one is interested in. Your reviews make me happy! They also make me a better writer and let me know that I should carry on with a story.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N---** Here you go guys, Chapter 2...and up so promptly! Thanks to all my reviewers...I was so touched when I saw how many of you reviewed this story already. Thank you and I hope you like the updates and keep reviewing! ;)

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So here he was, three months after Martha lad left and he was finally ready. He had finally found it, a safe route into the parallel universe, a safe way of crossing the void. He had had to work with some very strange aliens from Tewmador One, travel to the end of the universe to find a lost race and even sneak around Torchwood and god forbid, make allies there, but he had done it, done it for her. Now…when to go to Rose. How long after they had said goodbye on Bad Wolf Bay? He wasn't sure, had she moved on? Could he really go back and take that away? What if she had a boyfriend now? Or a husband? Could he go back and stop all that? How would that be fair on Rose? But then again, the Doctor could not bear the thought of being able to return barely a second after their goodbye and not doing it. He couldn't bear the thought of letting Rose suffer, letting her grieve and mourn for him. No, it had to be for her, he had promised her he wouldn't leave…if she wanted to move on then she would have the rest of her life to do that, but he had to go back to her as soon as he could. So the Doctor decided after much deliberation and ruffling of his hair, that two days after their goodbye would be the time. This would give her enough time to have returned to Pete's home but not enough time to upset her too much.

The ride in the Tardis was bumpier and more hectic than the Doctor had ever remembered, which was saying something given the usual standards of the flights with him at the helm. This was different though, it was like riding a rollercoaster, through a plasma storm, backwards, whilst being manhandled by King Kong – who was actually far nicer than any film had depicted, mused the Doctor.

And then he landed, with a crash. The Doctor was sent off his feet onto his back below the console, no-one beside him to laugh about it with. Lying on his back he stayed, just trying to prepare himself for returning to Rose…and finishing that sentence he had started so long ago, uttering the words that he needed to say, the ones he was so afraid to confess, the words that he had realised moments too late that she needed to hear, words his hearts desperately needed to admit.

Tentatively he got up and moved from the console, he moved towards the door, his legs shaking like the breeze. He had to be right, if this wasn't the place, if he had failed he didn't think he would be able to go on. Back oh so long ago, after the Time War he had needed rescuing and she had rushed in, like a welcome breeze ruffling his life, changing it, changing him. They had relied on each other so much, their lives and hearts were so entwined, she gave him the strength to carry on back then, and she still did. This had to be right, it just had to be. As he took the first steps out of the Tardis he realised that something was wrong. Has wasn't outside a mansion like he was meant to be…he was in a bedroom, a garishly pink one at that. It was like being in some Barbie palace of seduction. There was a pink bed, pink walls, pink carpet, a pink towel covering a…OH NO!

An ear splitting scream broke through the quiet of the house as the pink towel entered the room at a stumbling run from the en-suite and inside it a naked Jackie Tyler screamed and screamed as she stood shocked and annoyed…to put it very, VERY lightly. Before the Doctor even had time to think, Jackie leapt over to him and promptly began to attack the stunned TimeLord with a barrage of slaps to his lost-puppy-dog face and punches to his chest as he just mutter 'ow's and 'get off's in a stifled whine.

"You…filthy…alien…pervert…" Jackie shrieked in between well placed punches.

"Owwww. Jackieeee…get off, get off!" whined a somewhat shell-shocked and lost Doctor, wrapping his arms around himself, trying in vain to shield himself from the blows that kept coming from Jackie without fail.

"You…land…in…my…bloody…bedroom…spying…pervert…dirty…And YOU LEFT ROSE! You…heartless…fu…"

"Jackie? What are you…oh." Pete had rushed into the room, trying to find the source of all the commotion and the reason for Jackie's outburst. He just stood there dumbfounded, with an expression not unlike the Doctors. The TimeLord took this pause in the attack to reach his hand into his breast pocket and clutch the photograph of Rose and the little post-it he had put on the back of it, they were wrapped up inside Rose's purple shirt that Donna had found. He clung to them like a child to his blanket, he needed the security, Jackie was right, he had left Rose. It had not been his fault and he would have given almost anything to prevent it, but the truth was he had still left her and if Jackie asked, which he was sure she would, he would not be able to say that he would not do it again.

"This alien bastard left Rose to go 'round people's bedrooms to watch 'em get dressed. He's sick, and he did it to me. He 'ad the nerve to come in here and watch me get dressed." Squealed Jackie in utmost irritation.

"I didn't, I wasn't!" Squeaked the Doctor indignantly. He was incredibly shocked (and slightly sickened) by the accusation, he was very confused and bewildered by the whole situation. This was not how he had foreseen his great reunion with Rose. Certainly in his best dreams he had seen some nudity, but this had been on Rose's part, not the formidable Jackie Tyler, even the thought made the Doctor shudder and feel slightly ill.

"And you left my daughter! You lied, you git. You said you couldn't come back but you just wanted to get rid of her didn't you? What ditch' her for a younger model did you? Dumped her so you could go watching people dress and get yourself off? And to think I actually liked this you. Well not now Mister! You're scum mate!" She poked her accusatory finger hard into his chest, the Doctor actually recoiled slightly at this and her obvious anger. But at the same time he couldn't help but feel touched by her inate protection of Rose, he would have been just as angry at Jackie if he thought someone had used her or treated her in such a way.

"Jackie, I…I didn't mean to be here. I meant to materialise outside, but the Tardis must have thought that this would be funnier! Trust me this is the _last _place I want to be. Well…maybe not the last, maybe a naked dalek convention would be worse…well I say worse, I mean as bad, well…I say as bad…" He was scrunching his face up and knotting his fingers in his hair as he spoke.

"Oooh, you cheeky bast…"

Just then Jackie was cut off by the door opening. She, Pete and the Doctor all turned towards the door, the latter two being glad that Jackie was stopped before she got back into her swing of Doctor bashing.

Through the door looking somewhat sleepy and disgruntled stepped Rose.

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A/N--- So what do you all think? How will Rose react to seeing him? Has it really been just two days? Did he really want to see Jackie changing? (well ok that is a definate no)

Ok guys...I am dropping uni so that I can persue a career in script writing. I am taking a HUGE leap because it is an almost impossible career to get into and I am going to have to work my arse off just to get scripts read so please please please review to let me know what about my writing is good and what I can improve. Let me know what you would like to see more of or less of etc. Any help you can give me to improve my technique would be more than greatly appriciated.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N--- Chapter 3 YAY!

I have been so amazed and so touched by the fantastic response this story has received! Thank you all so much for your reviews. And Thank you for all the support you guys have given me and all the encouragement about my hopes to write for television, I am so happy and just wanted to thank you all. I'm really, really greatful for each and every one of your comments and reviews and I really hope that this chapter lives up to your expectations and you all continue to review.

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"Mum, what the hell is going on? Why are…" Rose stopped suddenly as her sleepy and slightly bemused gaze fell upon the Doctor. He was just standing there. Standing right in front of her rubbing his ear nervously…but just…_standing there_.

"Doctor?" She whispered. She didn't want to see him, this was it, she was really going crazy. It wasn't enough that he was in her dreams, in her thoughts, in her head all the time, now she was hallucinating him as well. 'Oh God let it be real or let it disappear' she thought, begging her subconscious not to be so unbelievably cruel to her. He gave her a tiny hint of a grin, as if he was as nervous as she was.

"DOCTOR!" she squealed, her face breaking into a smile that she couldn't even try to hold back. She began to move towards him then abruptly stopped and took a shuddering step back.

"Wait…are you really him? I mean…if you are how are you…? You said…" She couldn't finish any sentence, she was shocked that her brain was even able to form words at this point, so many other thoughts were spinning around it at what felt like the speed of light, at least as fast as the TARDIS could go.

"I know, Rose Tyler. But I _am_ a genius you know!" He said scrunching up his nose and puffing out his chest slightly as he always did when he was feeling particularly proud of himself.

"When has impossible ever stopped me?" His maniacally adorable grin burst into life and jumped straight into Rose's heart.

"So you're really…?" A smile was creeping back onto her lips as she rushed out her words, breathless with shock.

"Yep!" He proclaimed, hands in his pockets and head bobbing in a little sideways nod of affirmation. This was all the encouragement that Rose needed and she ran full pelt towards the Doctor, flinging herself at him and jumping into his arms. He swung her around in his arms, an ecstatic grin plastered on his face. They both held each other as close as they could, it was surprising that either could still breathe with the passion and intensity with which they clung to each other's forms. Neither wanted to let go. Rose let out an involuntary,

"Oooarg." The Doctor chuckled at the sound. It was a noise only Rose could make. He could remember her making it before, when they had hugged after escaping from the beast in the pit (the beast of the non Jackie Tyler variety that is.) The Doctor began to think about how it was after different beasts he had faced without her that that noise escaped, strange.

"Oi, don't hug him. He was watching me get dressed!" called out Jackie, brows furrowed, breaking the tender and excited atmosphere that the couple had unknowingly created. Rose buried her face in the Doctor's neck as she snickered at Jackie's accusation. She let herself down from the Doctor's arms and saw his embarrassed, sheepish and slightly scared expression. This only made her want to laugh more.

"Mum he's mad, he's not suicidal!" At this the Doctor let out a little snort of laughter, only to be faced with Jackie's defiantly angering expression, he stopped and looked down at his feet like a guilty child.

"You know he wouldn't do that. You like him and don't even try and deny it. Plus he wouldn't do that sort of thing, he only wants me. He's mine." This situation was so ridiculous that Rose had to force herself to just keep a straight face, more so when she had noticed the burning red cheek that the Doctor was sporting thanks to Jackie. But Rose's final words silenced everyone, all eyes widened at lingered on her. She hadn't meant to say it, she was just so excited and so, so happy. The words had just slipped out.

"What do you mean he wants you?!" questioned Jackie ferociously. "And what do you mean he's yours? Rose Tyler what have you been doing?!"

"I…" Rose kept her eyes resolutely glued to her feet, her face was flushed and she wanted to just sink into the floor. 'This is just fantastic,' she thought. 'The Doctor does the impossible, he actually comes back to me, finds me. And in the first ten minutes he's attacked by Mum and then I go and claim him as if we were a couple. SHIT.' Her mind was racing, just trying to find an excuse, an explanation for what she had said that wasn't the truth, the truth was just too embarrassing to admit, let alone in front of her parents. But Rose knew why she had said it, she loved him. It was simple, she had always thought of him as hers and since Bad Wolf Bay that had only increased, she had finally told him how she felt and he had…he had so almost told her. But God, what was he going to think now? Rose wouldn't have been surprised if he had just turned around and left right there and then. She ventured her gaze slightly to glance as quickly as she could at his face. She expected to see him looking shocked, annoyed or angry but instead his thousand watt smile was shining out more brightly than she could ever remember, in fact it even looked as though his eyes had misted.

"She means that I would never even look at anyone else because I already have the best. I have Rose Tyler, and I am indeed hers, in every way, any way. I am com-_pletely _hers and will only want her_, forever!" _His grin was spreading over his whole face in a way only the Doctor's smile could and his eyes met Rose's as if to ask her approval of what he had just said and to let her know that it was the truth. At once his grin was more than mirrored by Rose's, her face was alight with joy and her tongue poked out from between her teeth. She couldn't stop herself, she threw herself straight upon him again, this time leaping into his arms, wrapping both her arms and legs around him and pressing her face into his hair, just trying to be as close to him as was physically possible.

Pete moved towards them and put his hand on Rose's shoulder, she lowered herself to the floor and let herself and the Doctor be ushered out of the room by Pete, still the couple moved no more than centimetres from each other. They let Pete push them gently from the room, instantly reading him and understanding that he knew they needed to be alone for now. The Doctor reached down and clasped Rose's hand. Warmth spread through Rose from her fingertips throughout her entire body. Her Doctor was back, more so than ever.

Pete stood in the doorway, stopping Jackie from following the couple. But they could still hear her as she ranted to the Doctor to keep his "dirty alien hands off my daughter." And something very nasty about a certain body part that Jackie would cut off him if he didn't which prompted an involuntary wince from the TimeLord. But he was back…but now they were going to be alone…alone with the Doctor after what they had said…Oh God!

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A/N--- Oooooh the Doctor and Rose alone after what she confessed on Bad Wolf Bay and after what they have both just said! Will it be happy? Awkward? Will they both confess or will they have to hold their feelings back.

What will happen when they are alone now?

What did you all think of that chapter?


	4. Chapter 4

The couple quickly shut themselves in Rose's room, happy to have the door muffling the sounds of Jackie Tyler's rant. They turned to face each other, hands still wrapped together instinctively. The Doctor let his free hand move to rub his ear nervously as Rose just stared up into his face, her eyes sparkling with joy and tears. He shifted his feet slightly and stared down at them. He was nervous and awkward, fidgeting, and obviously. Rose felt a small smile creep onto her face as she watched his agitation; he was like a small child feeling guilty.

"So, you're a peeping Doctor now are you?" Rose laughed, trying to calm the Doctor and herself by bringing them back to gentle mocking, their old ways.

"God, how was I supposed to know that the TARDIS would land me right into your mum's bedroom. Now _that_, that was scary." His grimace just elicited more laughs from Rose who by this point had reached for the Doctor's other hand. Their fingers curled together, the perfect fit.

"Did you not think to check the monitor? I mean you could have ended up anywhere." Rose asked, furrowing her brow and taking great pleasure at feeling superior.

"Weeeeell, I _could_ have I suppose." He said, unconsciously bringing their joined hands up to ruffle the back of his hair. He looked at the floor,

"I was just a bit distracted." He muttered his words, eyes moving shiftily across the floor, back and forth, resolutely not looking at Rose.

"Oh yeah?" She exclaimed cheekily. "Wait…by what?"

"Well…new universe, uuuh," He paused awkwardly and mumbled almost in a whisper, "you."

"What d'you just say?" Rose called, partly in shock and partly in joy, a grin sweeping over her face, her mouth still slightly open as she smiled and her tongue poked over her teeth.

"Yes, well never mind. So, how long has it been?" He tried to brush off his last comment, and took the chance of the subject change to look up at Rose again.

"Five and a half weeks." She laughed. "Not quite five and a half hours but you know."

"Ha!" He exclaimed. "Classic!...Well, not exactly what I'd aimed for…was meant to be two days, but still." He looked as if he was deep in thought as he scrunched his nose up, sniffing and looked out of the window.

The two stood in silence for a few moments, both still trying to adjust, trying to believe that this could be real. Rose could feel the questions burning inside her; she needed to know if he had meant what he had said to her mum earlier. She needed to know why he was back, how he was back. How long had it bee? Was he the same? Had he found anyone else? She needed to know everything. She willed herself to stop thinking about it all as she felt tears beginning to creep into her eyes.

"You came back." It was almost inaudible, so soft. The Doctor had only heard her use that tone when she was truly scared. When they were in the church when Pete died, when the beast had told her she would die, when they had said their goodbye. He let go of her hand and moved his up to her face. He held her there, cupping her cheek as she leant her face into his touch, allowing a stray tear to flit from her eye. Her hand moved to cover his and her gaze locked to his, eyes sparkling with tears yet unshed.

"I had to Rose. It's you, I mean…I couldn't…I never stopped…I couldn't lose you." He felt his breath catch in his words and Rose's shallow gasps falter under his touch. Almost at once they threw themselves together into their third embrace in under fifteen minutes. They clung to each other, both too scared to let go, as if once their hold was broken they would disappear again. Rose's hands were grasping at his shoulders, his back, clinging to his coat and then grabbing as much of him as she could. The Doctor kept his arms locked around her, as tightly as he could without hurting her. His head rested by her temple and he inhaled the scent of her, the scent of Rose, the scent of home.

"Doctor, did you mean it? I mean the stuff you said…like to my mum and all? Was it…are you…was it true?" Her voice was muffled as she whimpered the words into his collar, her hands still clinging almost painfully to the back of his shoulders.

"Yes." He whispered into her neck, his breath tickling her and sending shivers down her spine. He moved to hold onto her arms and pushed her away, with a smile edging onto his face.

"And, Rose Tyler. I have something to say to you. Never got to finish it on the beach did I?" They were now once again looking into each other's eyes. Rose searched his face in surprise and apprehension. She had longed for him to say it for so long and now, this was it. She let the Doctor guide her to sit on the bed. He stroked her face and she ran her fingertips over his temple, his cheek, his lips.

"Right. Even though this isn't my last chance to say it, Rose Tyler…you owe me my game of twister!" His maniacal grin was back and his head cocked slightly to the side as he finished his words and gave her a wink. Rose rolled her eyes, she longed for him to say the words she needed to hear. She wanted the truth from him. But for now this was good. He was back. Rose suppressed a grin. The Doctor was really back, his idiotic comments and jokes just proved it. She flung her arms around him and in a bout of tearful laughter they collapsed to lie on the bed together. As they lay there, the Doctor pulled her chin up so that they were face to face, just inches apart,

"Oh and Rose Tyler…I…"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N---** Hey, sorry I have been taking so long to update. I have been so hecticly busy and so this has had to go on the back burner. But hopefully I should be updating a lot of my stories over the next few days.

Anyway...thank you all so much for your reviews...I was so happy to get them. I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations.

Enjoy!

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"Oh and Rose Tyler…I…"

Suddenly there was a crash on Rose's bedroom door and the couple turned their heads as one to glare at the door, shocked to have been pulled from their tender reverie so brusquely. The bang was followed abruptly by Jackie Tyler's voice resonating loudly,

"You two'd better not be doing anything. I could tolerate Mickey, but you Doctor better keep your tentacles off her." Then there was the sound of an indignant Jackie being once again moved away by Pete.

"Tentacles?" muttered the Doctor with a small bewildered smile. Rose laughed softly and buried her head into the pillow beneath the Doctor's. Why can't he finish a stupid sentence? Why does something always have to stop him saying those words? It just wasn't fair. Her thoughts drifted back to Bad Wolf Bay and their agonising goodbye. She had never felt so afraid or alone as she had on that day when he faded away. Her whole life had just disappeared before her eyes. The travelling, the TARDIS that she had come to call home, the adventure, making a difference, it had all just been snatched away from her. So had her Doctor, the man she loved. As the feelings came flooding back Rose began to cry, the tears wetting the Doctor's cheek as well as her own.

"I thought I'd lost you." Rose stuttered out through her tears. "When you disappeared I thought, I thought that was it." She broke down into sobs, crying the tears she had been trying to suppress for months.

"So did I." Whispered the Doctor into her ear as his cheek rested against hers. He hand his arms wrapped around her and as her sobs became more intense and her body began to shake next to him he held her closer and began to rock her gently back and forth. A simple consolidation of comfort, protection and love that she needed. She needed to feel safe again, that he wouldn't leave her. He needed to protect her, hold her to him forever and feel again.

"I thought I'd really lost you…forever. And…and there are so many things I haven't said or done." She rushed her words out in one breath as she knew that if she waited she may never say them again. They were painful to say. Rose felt weak, exposed and afraid. She tried to undo what she had just said and put her barriers back up.

"But after all that, I only got rid of you for a few weeks." She gave an empty and hollow laugh. She tried to joke but the Doctor saw through it, he could tell that she was shaken and scared, that she needed him. He moved one of his hands to cradle the back of her head and let the other rub her back as he continued to rock her. He kissed her cheek. He could feel her body begin to relax against him, although it was still wracked by drying sobs.

"So how long has it been for you?" She asked leaning back just enough to look into his eyes without either of them breaking their contact. The Doctor looking into her eyes could see them full of sorrow. It was as if she already knew that the answer would be a lot longer for him than for her. She wanted to know, she wanted to comfort him, to understand how long he had been hurting.

"Oh…you know, time is a funny thing…" He started to pull away from Rose slightly, not wanting her to know how long he had been searching for her, dying for her inside, how long he had felt so alone, so hopeless. Rose felt him begin to back away and brought her hand to cup his cheek where she began to caress his face softly, silently letting him know that she was there and she understood. Her eyes bore lovingly into his and he couldn't lie, he realised that he didn't want to pretend, he didn't want to hide anymore, not from Rose.

"Two years. A little over, I think." He spoke with a sigh. Rose closed her eyes and brought her hand from his cheek to the back of his neck where she gently pulled his head down to rest on her shoulder, letting him hide against her. She kissed into his hair, letting him know that it was ok, that she was there now. After they were eye to eye one again Rose spoke.

"Ummm…did you…uh…did anyone go with you?" She couldn't meet his eyes now. She just stared resolutely at the pillow. She felt so guilty that he had had to go for so long whereas she had only been away from him for a few weeks. But she still couldn't stop the question. She hated herself for asking but she had to know. She ran her fingers tentatively through his hair.

"Yes. I travelled with Martha." The Doctor said bluntly and simply. He understood why Rose had needed to ask him and he wasn't going to lie to her. He knew that although what he had said would hurt her, he knew that as soon as she understood, that she would be happier for knowing.

"Oh." Rose tried to hide the pain in her voice but didn't manage. "Ok." She tried to sound as if it didn't matter, she wished her voice would be steadier, but she couldn't manage more than those syllables. She wanted to be alone. After spending every second wishing for the Doctor to come back she was suddenly wishing that he hadn't. She took her hands away from him and made to move from the bed. The Doctor's hand was still lyinging on the small of Rose's back as he stroked her comfortingly. When he felt her try to pull away he just pulled her even closer to him. He could see more tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

"Rose, I did not replace you. I couldn't even if I tried and believe me I've never wanted to try. Martha kept me company, she helped me to get back out there and make a difference. She was a friend to me and I'm not going to pretend that she wasn't. But Rose she wasn't you. I never stopped thinking about you, looking for a way back to you, missing you, caring about you, lo…I…you are the only person I truly thought about over the last two years, and the two years before. It was only you Rose, I promise." His maniacal grin was back as he finished speaking and saw Rose's eyes light up, still glittering with tears, but no longer tears of pain.

"You humans!" He exclaimed "You're_ brilliant_! So passionate, so stupid, so easily threatened!" He said with a laugh as he began stroking Rose's side.

"Shut up!" She breathed in mock exasperation. Rose began to laugh delicately.

"Hey. This is my house and you Rose Tyler will come out and tell me what's going on!" Called Jackie through the door once again, making Rose jump and the Doctor roll his eyes.

"Look Doctor, I'm ready to listen. Both of you get out here and explain all this." She sounded calmer, Rose noted…but to be on the safe side the Doctor had better stay out of arms reach. She began to giggle as she remembered her mother slapping the Doctor back in London when she had first returned home with him. She snuggled herself against him, but not before catching the puppy-eyes that he was giving her as if in hope that she would somehow get rid of Jackie. Rose placed a chaste kiss on the Doctor's cheek and curled herself into him still giggling. But when the Doctor lifted her chin so that they were eye to eye and millimetres apart, suddenly things weren't so funny. They were locked in each other's eyes, everything was quiet, Rose felt awkward, his stare was so intense, she wanted to fidget, not sure whether she wanted to look away or stare into his eyes forever. She could feel his breath whisper across her mouth. She let her eyes flutter closed and felt his lips gently meet hers. So softly, cautiously. Her lips brushed against his. She let herself smile against him before pulling away. Her eyes still shut she licked her lips, tasting more of him still on her. Of all their expressions of love, the comforting words, the joined hands, the passionate embraces, all the gestures, this was the most certain, the most real.

Rose wanted to hold onto their kiss (or sort of kiss) forever. She wanted to drown in his eyes, lose herself in his arms, vanish inside his kisses, be entwined and joined for all of eternity, but,

"My mum's still outside the door." She half whispered, half just mouthed to him, a smile gracing her features.

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A/N--- Lol...ok so PLEASE don't kill me for not letting him say it! But what do you all reckon to that chapter? What will they tell Jackie? What will she say? Will he stay? Will Rose leave?


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N---** Ok, this is a slightly shorter chapter than usual. And also it isn't quite as funny or fluffy (well...just a different kind of fluffy I think) but don't worry, it isn't really angst. Read 'Your Touch' if you want angst! lol!

This just kind of stuck in my head until I wrote it. I just feel really sorry for Jackie...she was left so carelessly by Rose, I adore Rose but she was very selfish and merciless in the way she treated Jackie and Mickey to begin with and this just explains her and Jackie coming to terms with that in a sickeningly sweet way! lol! It explains why Jackie is the way she is etc.

Anyway. I may write a whole fic on the subject at some point as I think it is an important subject that is rarely breached. But in this fic it is just this chapter.

Enjoy!

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Previously...

"My mum's still outside the door." She half whispered, half just mouthed to him, a smile gracing her features.

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The Doctor sighed and the couple both wriggled their separate ways off the bed and hand in hand went out to face Jackie. As soon as the door was opened they were greeted by her face, she was now at least dressed and she marched her way to the living room, keeping a few steps ahead of the other two until they had reached the room at the bottom of the stairs and she gestured to them to sit down. She was very much playing the protective mother routine and Rose felt like she was sixteen again, getting another lecture about Jimmy Stone. But wait…she wasn't sixteen anymore, she wasn't giving up her life and running off with some man she hardly knew…well…not _now. _No, now she was going back to her life and running off with a man she knew more than she could even explain.

She wasn't a child anymore but she suddenly saw why Jackie was doing this, why she shouted at and slapped the Doctor, why she begged Rose not to go. Rose realised that this was how she herself was with the Doctor, she yelled at him when he put himself in danger, she begged him to be safe, this was love, from everybody. Rose understood that she had forced Jackie to watch her throw her life away with Jimmy Stone and had left her to pick up the pieces when she came back destroyed. She had forced Jackie to miss her, fear for her and mourn her for a year before just swanning in and expecting everything to be ok. She had made Jackie watch her leave time and time again with no guarantee that she would ever return. Her mother was just trying to protect her and when the Doctor had left her mother picked up the pieces once again when Rose was left distraught and broken in Torchwood and again on Bad Wolf Bay. And now that the Doctor was back her mother was just afraid. After all how many times can a mother watch their child destroy themselves?

Rose was stood in the doorway just staring at her mother. She threw herself into Jackie's arms, leaving her mother very confused as she stumbled to stay upright.

"Thank you mum." Rose sobbed into her ear as she wrapped her arms around her.

"Sweetheart? What's the matter Rose love?" Questioned Jackie, pulling her daughter from her and holding her at arms length, staring at her as if to find some trace of what caused Rose's sudden change.

"Nothing Mum, I promise. I just love you. And I am safe. I know how much I have put you through, and I love you so much Mum." Rose now had tears pouring down her cheeks. Jackie pulled her daughter back into her and held her close, protecting her once again.

During all this the Doctor was sat on one of the large orange sofas in the Tyler's front living room and he simply sat staring open mouthed at Jackie and Rose, feeling very confused at why Rose was upset all of a sudden. It had happened so quickly. But then again, he assured himself, it was a stressful day for everyone and emotions were running high. Yes these little apes were all emotions and hormones and feelings and all of that other wonderful human stuff.

After a few minutes the two women moved to join the Doctor, Rose curling herself automatically into his chest and letting him wrap an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him. The three of them sat there in silence for a while. It must have been midmorning but the weather outside showed wintry skies and there was a fire blazing in the fireplace beside the Doctor. He sat watching the flames for a while, Rose was sat with her feet curled underneath her, as she leaned herself into the Doctor, one arm wrapped lazily around his midriff as the other pressed by his side.

Jackie was sat on a sofa across from them, just watching them quietly. She never had before. Not really. She had grown to understand Rose and how she felt about this alien man, and the last time they had walked in together she had embraced the Doctor straight away. She had seen the way they looked at each other, all smiles and comfort. But now, after she had watched Rose completely torn apart, standing beside that wall in Torchwood, banging her hands against it hopelessly, after seeing the Doctor move heaven and earth to give her the goodbye she needed, now Jackie really looked at them both and really saw them. Her little girl wasn't just that anymore. She still was her little girl, and always would be, but now she was so much more, she was his as well and she was her own. Sometime in the last few years Rose had been found by him, really found, and she had found herself along the way. Jackie smiled to herself, but things still needed to be said. There were still questions.

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**A/N---** What did you think? REVIEWS? Please? I am getting less and less reviews and I worry that my writing is going downhill. Please let me know if it is! So...after their realisations...what will Jackie say? Will Rose still go with the Doctor? Will she stay out of guilt? And if she does will she ever see the Doctor again? Or will she go and leave Jackie again? If she goes...will Jackie ever see her as her little girl again?


	7. Interlude

**A/N---**

Hey,

Sorry for how useless I have been with updates, my laptop has kept breaking and I have now lost half of my work.

So please have patience whilst I try and rewrite it and I will try to post again as soon as possible.

Oooh and I have started a blog which I would love comments on and well…people to read it in general.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N---** This chapter has been more trouble than probably any that I have written. It has come out completely differently to how I first intended but it was the only way it seemed right.

This chapter is dedicated to all my reviewers, all the people who are sticking with me and my stories, particularly those who helped motivate me to finish this chapter...you know who you are.

I am just so happy people are reading and enjoying my fics and as ever your feedback is REALLY valued as I will take it all on board, good or bad.

Also I am thinking about getting a Beta...is anyone interested? Give me a message if you are.

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Rose closed her eyes as she curled herself closer into the Doctor's arms. She lay her head on his chest and let herself drift away with the gentle rise and fall of his breathing. His arms encircled her, wrapping her in his safety. This was home. A gentle smile was poised on both of their faces and Rose let out a contented sigh as she revelled in the feeling of the man she loved holding her.

"Right you two. I want answers." Said Jackie, breaking the couple from their loving silence. They both turned towards her but neither could force themselves to move from each other's arms. Rose could feel her stomach beginning to twist. What could she tell her mother? She hadn't even thought about what she would say. What were her and the Doctor? They hadn't really told each other. He had come back for her, he had said that he only wanted her, they had kissed but what did that mean? Rose's head was spinning from trying to decipher what she and the Doctor were. She wondered if his words and kiss had meant that he cared for her, was glad she was back with him, she wondered if he did those things out of friendship or out of…could she even bear to hope…out of love.

"Oi. I'll have none of those doe eyes at each other either." Rose shot her mother a glare and the Doctor simply looked bewildered. "And don't give me that look Rose, it's obvious you two are infatuated. So come on. Out with it. Why did you leave Doctor and what are you doing back? And more importantly, what's going on between you and my daughter?"

The Doctor's mouth fell open and his eyebrows raised. He had known that Jackie would ask them what was going on but he still wasn't prepared for it. He looked at Rose who was gazing up at him trying not to laugh. He broke when she buried her head into his neck to suppress her giggles and he let out his laughter. Jackie just fixed her stare onto him. This was going to be tricky.

"Mum," spoke Rose finally. She bit her lip as more giggled threatened to emerge, "Mum, me and the Doctor are…we're back to normal. Like how we always were yeah?" Rose held back the smug grin that was inching it's way onto her face. She had to admit she was rather proud of how diplomatic she was being. She conveyed this to the Doctor by pressing her fingers into his side where she had draped herself over him.

"No. He swans in here as if nothing ever happened. I want to here this from him. It's been over a month and Rose has been broken Doctor. Did you think about that? About what leaving would do to her? What happens now then eh? You two go off again? Disappear for another year then you leave her on my doorstep distraught and you run off? No. I won't let you do it to her. Not again." There were tears beginning to shine in Jackie's eyes

"Jackie I would do anything to protect Rose. You know I didn't just leave her. I never would. And the time apart has been every bit as hard for me as it has for her. But if you're asking me to say that I won't let her come with me then I'm sorry but I can't. And if you're asking if things will be different, well I can't promise that. I can't promise that we'll always be safe, I can't promise that she won't be in danger, from being left again or from anything else. I wish I could but I can't. But Jackie, I can promise that I will do everything, _everything_ that I can for Rose, to keep her safe, to keep her happy and to keep her." The Doctor spoke slowly and with every emotion that he was feeling. He wasn't just telling Jackie, he was telling Rose and himself. He felt Rose moving closer into him and a breath in his ear whispering a shaky "Thank you."

The entire time that the Doctor had been speaking Rose had been swept away. The sound of his voice, the passion that he spoke with, it mesmerised her. She let her arm tighten around his waist, partly in comfort for him and partly for herself, she wanted, needed to be as close to him as she could be. As the Doctor spoke on she could feel his body begin to softly tremble and she let her fingers gently caress his side in a reassuring gesture to him. She let her fingers wander up and down his side, gently running her fingertips over him, just hard enough for him to feel through his suit.

"I know," Jackie was speaking softly now, as if struggling back tears. "I know you'd never hurt her if you could help it. But what if you can't?"

"I think about that every day and it kills me." The Doctor was almost whispering. Rose wanted to speak, wanted to tell them both that it would be ok but she sensed that they needed to talk about it, both of them.

"I wouldn't stop you love." Said Jackie, turning to Rose, almost begging her to understand. "I know I couldn't but even if I could I wouldn't stop you. I know that it's your life now, who you are. But I need to know you'll be happy. Not just with all that danger but really happy, like me and Pete are." Rose looked from her mother to the Doctor. He stroked her hair as she moved from his arms over to Jackie. She threw her arms around her mother,

"Mum, I _am_ happy. Really I am. This is what I want, all I want. Me and him, we're a team. Neither of us was living before but now we've got each other and it's perfect mum." Rose's eyes never left the Doctor's as she spoke. She was confessing her truth to him and couldn't bear to look away. She was scared of how he would react, but somehow she knew he felt the same.

Jackie sighed as if resigned. "I know love. We'll talk more later when you two have had some time." The Doctor and Rose could hardly believe how accepting she was being, but then again she had witness the battle too and she had witnessed their being torn apart, the agony, the loss. Jackie's face turned to a glare as she looked at the Doctor "But no funny business, you may be a 900year old alien but you're never too old for a slap you know." She pointed an accusing finger in his direction and then gave Rose a warning look. The Doctor simply muttered "I know" under his breath as he rubbed his cheek which still bore the angry red mark of Jackie Tyler.

"I mean it. You two can sit and talk, even go running off into trouble if you have to but nothing _more_."

"Mum!" Breathed Rose in embarrassment. She could feel her cheeks flush and out of the corner of her eye could just make out the Doctor trying to hide a smirk.

As soon as Jackie felt the room the couple flew together, neither had time for coherent thought, neither had the chance to over think what they were doing, the moved on instinct, on passion. Their bodies crashed together and his lips were on Rose's in an instant. His kiss was bruising, so much repressed passion and love, they were falling apart in each other's arms. He drew her closer with his hand on the small of her back whilst the other stroked her hair tenderly. She gasped in response and he slipped his tongue into her open mouth. Their tongues duelled and caressed each other's until Rose broke the kiss for air. She was gasping, her eyes locked on to the intense stare of his. He smiled… "Hello!" he beamed. She responded in kind and they broke into laughter, wrapping each other up in their arms once again.

The Doctor pushed Rose away just enough to be able to look at her once more,

"I just remembered…there's something we haven't done yet…" Rose waited for him to finish, to elaborate but all she got was a cheeky wink.

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A/N--- Oooooh the Doctor and Rose...what could he mean? What haven't they done yet? I know!

Did you like the chapter? I found it very difficult and am unsure of how it has turned out. I would love to know you're opinions. And what are they going to do now? Wink wink!


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N---** Welcome to the next chapter! I was so happy with all your reviews, thank you so much. I appriciate them so much, especially given how useless I am being with updates at the moment. I have a sister about to have a baby in a couple of weeks, a house for her to move in to which I am helping her hubby with (yes STILL), and a lot of stuff in my personal life demanding attention. But as ever I am still going to write as much as possible.

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"Ouch! My leg's attached you know!" Snapped Rose

"Well if you'd just keep still maybe it wouldn't be so hard." Retorted the Doctor with an obvious smirk.

"It's not my fault you're too big."

"Will you just be quiet and put your legs over your head?" sighed the Doctor.

Jackie was busy in the kitchen of the Tyler house. After the events of the day she had decided a cup of tea was definitely in order. She sat with her cup cradled in her hands and decided that perhaps she had been a little hard on the Doctor when he had first arrived, yes it had been a shock and definitely less than perfect circumstances but she had to admit that maybe she had hit him a little too hard that ninth time. She decided that maybe she would make him a little banana cake to say she was glad he was here. She remembered how much he had enjoyed it when she and Rose had made one for him before. With her tea still in hand she started to busy herself with making a cake.

" I'm not a contortionist Doctor, and I'm not moving anyway. If you want to do it so much then you get down there and do it." The Doctor moved accordingly and his hair brushed Rose's thigh. At this Rose burst into a fit of giggles.

Jackie was busy stirring the gloopy cake mixture she had made and was about to have her second cup of tea. She walked towards Rose's room to ask if Rose and the Doctor wanted tea, she forgot to put down the spoon she was holding and walked up the corridor with it. As she reached Rose's bedroom door she stopped, she could hear smothered laughter from within.

"Oi, that tickles." Giggled Rose, "Stupid Time Lor…oh" Rose grunted the last word and Jackie could hear clothes rustling. She held her hand steady on the door handle wanting to stop this but at the same time not wanting to see anything.

"Oh God." Rose was panting now, "I can't hold on much longer Doctor."

"Ow! Rose that was my head." The Doctor yelped in a fairly high pitched voice. He cleared his throat almost embarrassedly as Rose chuckled softly.

"Well I didn't ask you to put it there did I?" Rose said, clearly strained.

"Rose if you keep doing that I'm not going to be able to hold on." Panted the Doctor. Rose's cheekily self-satisfied giggles resonated through the room.

"Yeah? Well that's sort of the plan."

"I should have known, you sneaky…Oh God."

This was all that Jackie could take. She threw the door open and held up the wooden spoon ready to attack. But the sight that lay before her was more than a surprise.

Rose and the Doctor's entwined bodies both jumped as the door flew open with a crash. At the sight of a furious Jackie Tyler brandishing a rather threatening wooden spoon (and the Doctor dreaded to think what she intended to do with that) the TimeLord collapsed into a heap and shuffled, in a fairly undignified manner, behind Rose, using her as a human shield. This plan failed however when she leapt to her feet and began jumping up and down, her face a picture of smugness and glee as she shouted,

"I won! HA! I am the supreme TARDIS twister CHAMPION!" Rose was almost completely ignoring Jackie who stood frozen in the doorway a little embarrassed about her outburst.

"No way Rose Tyler. That's cheating. Using your mother to foil me is not a win." Grumbled the Doctor as he got to his feet and once again edged behind Rose just incase Jackie was still planning on using her wooden spoon against him. "Jackie. Lovely to see you again so soon. Did you want to join us? I'm so sorry for not inviting you to begin with." The Doctor was now matching Rose's smug look.

"Yeah, Mum, you look a bit annoyed. What did you run in for?" asked Rose, poorly feigning innocence. She was given away by the grin that was edging onto her face.

"Oh shut up you two. And wipe those smiles off your faces. You two were panting and moaning and all that. What was I supposed to think?" Jackie was standing, hands on hips as if daring them to take this further. "You're like bloody kids." This statement only received smothered giggles from the pair as they met each other's eyes.

After a bit of a 'disagreement' between Jackie and the Doctor, where the wooden spoon was used several times to thwack the unsuspecting Time Lord over the head as Rose stood on and snickered, Jackie left to finish her cake, with somewhat less enthusiasm as she had before, and the Doctor and Rose were left alone once again. Rose had finshed gloating by this point and was sat on the bed next to the Doctor stoking his hair, soothing the spot which had bared the brunt of the spoon attack as he ran his fingers up and down her side. Now that they had found each other they seemed to find it almost impossible to keep their hands off one another. Rose wondered how that had happened. They were back together, the same as always and yet there was something so different, so domestic, so…romantic about them now. It made her nervous, she kept expecting him to push her away. But she knew that in the time they had been apart, something had changed for him, he didn't seem so afraid. But what would happen now?

"So umm…how, I mean, how long are you here for? What happens now?" Rose stuttered awkwardly, her eyes fixed on the Doctor's hair so she wouldn't have to look at him.

"Weeeell…you know, same old life, you, me, last of the Time Lords and all that….if you still want to…" hummed the Doctor, the spark of excitement glinting in his eyes once again, the look that Rose knew would lead them to both adventure and danger.

"Of course I want to, when do we go? Can we go? Can we still get back here?" The familiar jolt of anticipation was building in Rose's stomach as she thought of once again being able to step into the TARDIS and travel through space, through time, travel to anywhere and anywhen.

"According to my calculations the TARDIS should be ready to go in another 18 hours 12mintues and…39, no 32 seconds. But she took a beating coming through the void. You'd have to be a genius to be able to get her fit to go back through…but luckily your very dashing companion just happens to be a genius. So once she's ready to go we'll take her to this universe's Cardiff and sit her on the rift, she'll get enough power to go back through. And the good thing is Rose Tyler, that the way I got to this universe is permanent so we can come back every…oooh…I don't know every 3months I should say. What do you think?" The Doctor had leapt to his feet as he spoke and began bouncing around the room like an over excited puppy. Rose was having a hard time keeping up with him and he darted back and forth, her neck began to ache. But she couldn't stop beaming at him.

"I think…fantastic." Rose proclaimed, giving the Doctor a tongue between her teeth smile.

"Brilliant!" He beamed back before pouncing on her and kissing her once again. Just like Rose thought, they just couldn't keep off each other now. When they finally broke apart, with Rose flat on her back, pressed into the bed, the smell of banana cake was drifting into the room.

"Is that _banana_ cake? I _love_ banana cake. Ah your mother is useless but she knows how to make a good cake." He sniffed the air deeply and began bouncing up and down on the bed.

"Yeah we can get some in a minute. But Doctor, I want to go with you, I can't wait to go with you, but can I have a bit more time with Mum first? Just an extra day or two. Will…will you stay?" She needed to be able to let Jackie know that the family mattered too, not just to Rose but to the Doctor, after all they were pretty much his family as well, they were all he had. She was nervous, she needed him to stay, to be willing to do it, do it for her.

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**A/N---** All reviews are loved dearly! They help me write quicker as well.

So I have decided to make a series. This is the first part, there will be three or four sequals and they are all planned!!! This story will only have one or two more chapters and then it will be complete...yay!

Tell me what you all reckon.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N --- Ok, it has been a LONG time since I updated.

I know that this is sort of outdated and now very AU since series 4 but I like this fic and I'm hoping you guys still will too. Plus there is only one more chapter after this of this story until I can start posting the next story in this series. Please R+R though as I need to know if people are still reading and still interested.

Enjoy!

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The two blondes sat side by side on the sofa both giggling at some glossy magazine that Jackie had picked, off a rather sizable stack on the coffee table. Rose's hair was falling loosely in her face and her eyes sparkled with the smiles that had haunted the Doctor's mind, every second that they had been apart. The Doctor himself was sprawled along the other half of the sofa, his sock clad feet resting on Rose's lap and his suit covered, quite disgracefully, in cake crumbs.

It had been four hours, sixteen minutes and thirty three seconds since the Doctor had told Rose that he would wait for her until the end of time. It had been four hours, eleven minutes and forty nine seconds since the Doctor had begun to regret his wording and started to wonder just how literally Rose would take his proclamation. And it had been two hours, twenty one minutes and twelve seconds since he had realised that he wasn't as bothered as he had thought. Rose was still Rose…and it was brilliant.

The Doctor didn't even know how long they had all been lounging on the sofa together but it was wonderful. It had been so long since he and Rose had been together and now finally he could really look at her. He had spent at least an hour (by his all powerful Time Lord calculations) just watching her, she was glorious. The way her head tilted gently, revealing the creamy, silk smooth skin of her neck to him whenever she looked at the opposite page of the magazine. Her hair was longer, only slightly but it was enough for him to notice. It now skimmed the swell of her breasts and draped over her shoulders, but it still shimmered in the sunbeams, that broke through the French windows, like a gentle halo. She looked so at home here, so comfortable, so human. He almost felt guilty for what he was about to do, how he was about to risk her life on a practically daily basis, almost…but not quite. Not quite because it was still there, still sparkling behind her eyes, lingering on the edge of her senses, twitching in every muscle. That need for adventure, the longing for purpose, the lust for life itself, for the universe, for him.

"Ha! No way those, are natural," Rose exclaimed, pointing somewhere in the depths of the magazine. Her sudden raise of voice jolted the Doctor and as his feet jumped on her lap, Rose turned to him, her beam unfaltering as she silently invited him to comment and simultaneously checked he wasn't getting too bored with them. But after a second her smile turned to gentle snickers which she tried to smother behind her hand.

"What?" The Doctor's eyes skimmed suspiciously from side to side trying to source the cause of Rose's mirth.

Rose just laughed more and began to point at him and rather worryingly at his crotch.

"What?" His voice was now surely an octave too high for it to be normal.

Rose's giggles just kept coming at her eyes glistened with tears that were slowly forming as she gave up trying to suppress her laughter.

"You can hardly talk love, its not exactly like the curtains match the carpets do they!" Jackie's head was still buried in the glossy magazine, seemingly oblivious to anything that wasn't going on two inches past her nose.

In a snap Rose's laughter stopped and her head whipped around to stare at Jackie, her cheeks rapidly flushing to a deep red.

"Mum!" Now it was Rose's turn to cough uncomfortably as she realised that her voice was far higher than usual…or natural. The Doctor on the other hand was greatly enjoying the change of power and was now smirking and chuckling under his breath at Rose's embarrassment. This earned him a glare from Rose before she remembered that he had obviously heard what Jackie said and her face began to burn again.

"Oh, well really, love. Nobody could think you're a natural blonde can they?" Jackie was half amused and half exasperated as she glanced at Rose's scarlet cheeks. She muttered something to herself and then looked towards the Doctor who was still chuckling in a slightly dirty way at Rose.

"And you Mister, can stop that snickering right now." She paused as she looked properly at him.

"Look at the state of you! Did you get any of that cake in your mouth? You're worse than Rose when she was a toddler. Oh you should have seen her," Jackie was well into a ramble by now and although the Doctor had stopped his laughter at her admonishment, he was beginning to like the way she was going with her rant. Rose on the other hand seemed to act in the reverse. She was now trying to interrupt her mother but to no avail.

"Her second birthday I spent all morning making her cake. Chocolate with chocolate icing, ice-cream set out for the party guests, I leave the room for a minute to put the kettle on,"

"Mum, he really doesn't need to hear…"

"And when I come back, what do I see but Mucky Pup, here, sat in the cake with ice-cream covering her. All over her party dress, in her hair, even up her nose. How she got onto the table in the first place I'll never know." Jackie was grinning at the memory and the Doctor looked as if he was about to burst with suppressed mirth. Rose had a nasty feeling she wouldn't live this down easily.

"Mum. It wasn't…"

"And that wasn't even the worst of it. When I tried to pick her up to get her cleaned off, I find she has blooming handfuls of cake in her chubby little mitts and she's busy shoving it down her nappy! Well, then all the guests arrived and what can you do, Rose was known as chocolate bum for months! I think I have some pictures of it somewhere."

"No, you don't need to get out the pict…" Rose was sat with her head in her hands, not able to even look at the Doctor, let alone meet his eyes. She tried to convey to her mother, in her tone that really, please, do not show the Doctor, the pictures. But before she even finished the sentence, the Doctor was speaking loudly over her,

"Jackie, nothing would make me happier than to see those pictures. Come on Rose, it's quite fun this domestic stuff!" The Doctor was positively smug, grinning like a Cheshire Cat and bouncing on his heels. As he had sprung to his feet he had seemingly missed the cake crumbs that were sent flying in all directions. Rose could do nothing but scowl like the petulant child that her mother was remembering, as the Doctor ruffled her hair and pulled her up by the hand to follow Jackie across the flat.

After, what felt to Rose like, hours of looking at old photos, including naked baby pictures and a rather less than flattering set of pictures of a teenage Rose, in her school uniform pinning down, a fairly smitten looking, teenage Mickey, Jackie and the Doctor seemed to have calmed themselves and the three of them separated so that Jackie could replenish their supplies of tea and chocolate biscuits.

The Doctor had enjoyed looking at all the photos. He had only briefly seen young Rose, once, as a baby, when he had taken Rose back to 1987 and then a few times since they had been separated. When he had felt at his lowest he had visited her past, just for a few minutes, just to see her face. But seeing the real Rose, the unguarded moments caught forever on film, made him love her all the more. She had always been the same it seems, always jeopardy friendly, always boisterous, always fighting for what she believed in (or sometimes just what she wanted) and always loving. He had wondered how Jackie even had the photographs, since Rose, technically hadn't ever been a child in that universe. But when he had asked, Jackie had simply reminded him of the year after she first left, that year when she didn't know if Rose would ever return. She had told him that since then she had always kept as many photos of Rose as she could in her purse, just so that she was always near.

"So when did you and Mum become so close then? You two are so not allowed to gang up on me you know. That's just not fair." Rose gently admonished the Doctor, her eyes squinting at him in an only half serious scowl.

"I'm not. We're not. She...well, I think the more important question is why didn't you tell me you were in the chess club?"

"Euch, I wasn't. Well, I was but it was only after I got suspended for getting the choir to go on strike…school thought it would be good for me to 'vary my activities'."

"Ha! Rose Tyler, you were positively a geek. A brainy, little, brain box," he beamed out.

"I was not!" She squeaked, poking him in the ribs. "Plus you can talk. You with your 'brainy specs' and all your science and hmm…weren't you even a science teacher once? Hmm…" She flicked his glasses as she spoke and swayed slightly against him teasingly.

It was then that he kissed her.

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A/N--- What do you guys think?

Please read and review!!! PLEASE? I'll give you pics of Ten-Inch in his pants!


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